Nancy Eckerson: There is no magic bullet to get to the finish faster

Sunday

Oct 7, 2012 at 3:15 AM

It is marathon and half marathon season and to get to the start andmore importantly, the finish, can take months of preparation such as following a solid training plan,including balanced nutrition and getting plenty of sleep. Tackling such long distances requires great endurance and avoiding common problems such as muscle cramping. It is tempting to think that there is an easy way to get an extra edge, a minor tweak that makes all the difference, and you will hear of studies that find adding particular foods or supplements can give that advantage. I spoke with Dr. Dennis Bobilya, of the UNH Department of Molecular, Cellular and Biomedical Sciences to find out if two slightly odd foods – chia seeds for endurance, and pickle juice for muscle cramps – actually work for athletes. First, it would be helpful to have a little background on these foods. Chia seeds are from a plant native to Central America and Mexico and were cultivated as nutritional supplements by the Aztecs of the region and more recently used by the Tarahumara Indians who are known for their legendary running endurance popularized in the book Born to Run. The chia seeds are said to slow down the metabolism of carbohydrates creating a longer fueling effect and greater endurance. Pickle juice as a means of stopping muscle cramps has been used for years by many athletic trainers who swear by its effectiveness; a May 2010 study published in the Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine seems to back this up.Dr. Bobilya, who specializes in nutritional biochemistry, micronutrients and dietary supplements as well as nutritional strategies to maximize fitness and athletic performance, was quick to dispel these findings and said that neither one has any good evidence supporting the assumptions. When it comes to fatigue and muscle cramping a first place to look at is glycogen depletion. When the muscles are out of fuel, the brain tells them to do things that they just can’t do, said Dr.Bobilya. Muscles are composed of numerous cells who don’t all run out of energy at the same time, but can no longer coordinate and work together which can cause cramping as well as a lack of energy known as ‘hitting the wall,’he said.Dehydration which causes blood volume to decrease and slow, as well as reduced delivery of nutrients and removal of waste products can also cause muscle cramping, said Dr. Bobilya.The process of dehydration where heat is dissipated through sweat can lead to a depletion of electrolytes – the key ones being sodium and potassium – which can cause a disruption of communication between muscles and nerves leading to cramping, said Dr. Bobilya, and that while pickle juice is high in sodium, it is not much more than found in a good sports drink. Cramping pain can sometimes have a psychological basis that can be worked through during training; bottom line, every person is unique, and there is no one cure for cramping since so many things can potentially cause it, he said.Dr. Bobilya does not recommend consuming any seeds or nuts prior to endurance exercise because they tend to just sit in the stomach due to the protein, fat and fiber content and are not readily used as an energy source. He said that it is a distraction to look for these types of quick fixes instead of focusing on things that do work, and that while there is a lot of research continuing, there have not been a lot of new nutritional scientific findings in the last 50 years regarding maximizing athletic performance. The original Gatorade formula, for example, has changed only a bit since the studies in the 1960s to now include a mix of different sugars and greater percentage of carbohydrates leading to a longer time before glycogen stores have been depleted, he said.What the science says is that endurance athletes need to focus on a proper plan for maximum glycogen storage by consuming carbohydrate rich foods before exercising and to supplement during as required, said Dr. Bobilya. He also recommends measuring your sweat rate (weigh yourself before running, don’t drink anything on the run, then weigh after, the difference is your sweat rate) so you will have a proper hydration plan that includes balanced electrolytes. He suggests practicing your nutrition skills just like your other athletic skills to find exactly what works for you.But regarding chia seeds, pickle juice and other trends, added Dr. Bobilya, for some people, taking something is better than nothing and to never under estimate the power of the placebo effect; the mind is a powerful organ of the body.Running NotesSaturday, Oct. 13, choose from the Community Child Care Center 5K Run for the Kids in Portsmouth, Trick or Feet 5K in Rochester, UNH Homecoming 5K in Durham; Sunday, Oct. 14, brings the Fire Tower 5K in Stratham.Nancy Eckerson writes about running for Foster’s Sunday Citizen. You can reach her at nerunner1@comcast.net.